


(Love Of My Life) Don't Leave Me || hardzello (for borhap summercast event)

by AnironSidh



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: 70s fashion, Bohemian Rhapsody cast - Freeform, Clothing, First Dates, First Kiss, Happy Ending, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Late Night Conversations, Loneliness, Love Confessions, M/M, bohemian rhapsody cast summer event, johndeaconshands, my boys - Freeform, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:36:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24999955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnironSidh/pseuds/AnironSidh
Summary: Joe's worried about what kind of future he and Ben may have once the movie is no longer keeping them in the same place, and he may find something more waiting for him to ask.-Written forjohndeaconshandson tumblr for the BoRhap Summer Event 2020
Relationships: Ben Hardy & Gwilym Lee & Rami Malek & Joe Mazzello, Ben Hardy/Joe Mazzello
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: Bohemian Rhapsody Cast Summer 2020Event





	(Love Of My Life) Don't Leave Me || hardzello (for borhap summercast event)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [johndeaconshands](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=johndeaconshands).



> The request was for something fluffy and first date, so I hope this works for that 😁

In his defense, it was getting late at the end of a far too long day. Gwil and Rami were long gone back to their hotel rooms. Ben had just been relaxing in his dressing room when Joe had thrown the door open, grinning widely.

"What," Ben said, raising one eyebrow at him, "the bloody  _ hell _ are you wearing?"

Joe collapsed onto the other end of the couch and lifted his feet up onto the coffee table. “You wouldn’t  _ believe _ how much old clothes they’ve got back there. We haven’t even worn  _ half _ of it.”

He’d seen some of the seemingly endless racks of clothing pulled together for filming, something that both Joe and Rami had jumped at the instant they were allowed near. Personally, Ben felt a little intimidated by the frankly terrifying staff, so he'd really only joined in on the fun when it was all four of them. The staff had gone home already like almost everyone else had at that point. The quiet was almost unsettling after the usual noise and bustle every day

"So, opinion? Could be my Met Gala look, I'm thinking." Ben rolled his eyes. Joe’s combination of a checkered blazer, violently pink and purple-polka dotted shirt, and intensely blue pants was… eye watering, to say the least. He hoped Joe knew how ridiculous he looked, but knowing Joe, he didn’t know how sure he could be. 

“You might blind people with that,” Ben eventually replied, turning back to his phone to discreetly send a picture he’d taken of Joe walking in to the group chat. “I thought you’d gone home.”

Joe blinked at the sudden change of subject, then shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it yet. I’d rather stay here for a bit instead of staring at my ceiling all night, you know?”

“Yeah.” Ben paused then to process Joe’s admission for a moment. When he’d first met the rest of the cast, he’d  _ assumed _ that Rami and Joe, having worked together before, would’ve hung around each other and left him pretty much on his own. They’d all become friends much easier and quicker than he’d expected, but somehow the thought of Joe ever feeling  _ lonely _ for any reason… felt strange. Ben understood Joe's words more than he really should. Maybe that was a casualty of being an actor constantly jetting around the world to different sets, making keeping any partner around difficult. 

“You okay?” Ben blinked a few times. He hadn’t even realized he’d zoned out enough to  _ not _ notice Joe now sitting right in front of him, one of his hands reached out to rest gently on Ben’s knee. Eyebrows furrowed and mouth turned into a frown, he shifted a few inches closer, giving his knee a barely-there squeeze. Ben wasn’t exactly sure why, but he couldn’t help but stare for a moment or two. 

“Er,” he managed, then shook his head with a half-forced laugh. “I was just… just thinking.”

Joe didn’t seem to believe him, judging by the  _ look _ on his face then, but he stood up after a minute with an offered hand out towards Ben and a smile. Ben raised his eyebrow and took Joe’s hand anyways, letting Joe pull him up from the couch. 

With a widening grin, Joe pulled him out of the dressing room and down the narrow hall. Ben found he couldn’t do anything but smile back. 

-

“ _ That _ is the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen!”

Joe twirled, letting the woolen vomit-green  _ thing _ that must’ve been clothing flow around him, and burst into laughter. “I think they got a  _ rug _ stuck in with the clothes,” he managed to say in between laughs. “It might’ve come from the trash, honestly.”

Ben was smiling, had been for a while now actually, smiling so wide he almost couldn't think of why he'd have any reason  _ not _ to. Joe seemed just as happy, if not more so. 

"I might miss some of these bloody things we've worn," he admitted as Joe started yanking the clothing off. He glanced up just in time to see Joe, the strange piece of clothing stuck around his head, shaking his head fervently in an attempt to get it off. 

He couldn’t  _ help _ bursting into the loud, almost wheezing kind of laughter he never let out around anyone else, the kind that was usually too embarrassing to let out. 

Joe huffed, his arms falling down to his sides. “Yeah, real funny,” he shot back. “Some help?”

“You’re such a  _ bloody _ idiot,” Ben murmured, not even bothering to stop the fondness from seeping into his voice as he stepped up to Joe and reached out to gently pry the garment off. Between the two of them, despite it getting stuck yet again on Joe’s head more than a few times, the  _ damned thing _ flew across the room onto an empty rack. 

They made it less than a  _ minute _ before collapsing against each other, Ben’s face falling against Joe’s shoulder and Joe’s arms around his waist. His laughter hitched at a slight tightening of the other’s grip. 

Usually, he would’ve let go by now, especially if there’d been any of the others around, but this time, he didn’t really  _ want _ to. Instead, he found himself leaning ever so slightly into Joe’s chest. Joe’s laughter came to a sudden stop. 

Ben winced. 

Joe leaned back, and Ben readied himself to back away with  _ some _ excuse for his  _ stupid _ action. “Hey,” Joe whispered, catching Ben’s waist just in time, eyes wide. “Um… thanks.”

“No problem.” He didn’t keep moving away, oddly enough. Whether it felt like a  _ ridiculous _ thing to admit, even just to himself in the privacy of his mind, it felt  _ nice _ to be bloody  _ held _ for once outside of a rehearsed scene, really kept near someone else for no reason other than they felt like it. 

“After, y’know, all of this,” Joe said a moment later, breaking the silence as he spoke and gestured at the set around the two of them, “is over, will I…” He paused, suddenly looking directly at Ben with an expression that seemed to be saying  _ something _ . “Will I still see you?”

Ben’s eyebrows knit together, the confusion written on his face. “Of course. There’s the Oscars and all that, yeah? We’ll all be there when Rami wins, obviously.” There were  _ plenty _ of opportunities they’d have to see each other, all the awards ceremonies they’d obviously win something at, but Ben got the feeling he was wrong about his answer somehow. 

Joe shook his head, lifting one hand up to cradle Ben’s cheek with that  _ look _ on his face still that he got whenever someone was being  _ particularly _ dense. “ _ No, _ Ben. I mean, I know that, but I meant…” He hesitated again. “I meant when will I see  _ you _ again, just us? I love the others, and I know we’ll still hang out together, but I meant what’ll happen to  _ us _ , once we don’t have the movie keeping us together. Just us, y’know?”

Oh…  _ oh! _ Ben couldn’t get the words out, damn his  _ stupid _ brain, but it felt like it all  _ clicked _ into place. He felt rather ridiculous gaping like a bloody  _ fish _ for the next minute until he managed to nod. 

“Yeah, if that’s what you want.”

Joe grinned bright enough that it could have lit up the whole city. “It is, definitely!” He laughed breathlessly for a moment and then  _ surged _ forwards, gaining a surprised noise from Ben just before it was swallowed up. He tugged Ben closer into the kiss with barely any resistance. 

“O _ kay _ ,” was all Ben could manage a few moments later, with what little breath he had left. Joe laughed yet again, still wearing that megawatt grin, then let out a little ‘oh!’ and released his grip on Ben’s waist, only to grab his hand. 

“There’s a taco place down the road, if you want a midnight snack,” he offered. “Not the fanciest first date, and I’m  _ definitely _ taking you to the nicest fucking restaurant in London eventually, but it’s the closest place that’s open now and I just  _ really _ want to take you out.”

What else was he supposed to say, other than an “Sure” in between sudden peals of laughter, when Joe was looking at him like  _ that _ ?

Sure enough, it  _ was _ still open even at that late hour. Joe seemed to know the owner standing behind the counter, stopping to talk for a few minutes, still grasping Ben’s hand as tight as he could. The only notice the owner took was a quick glance and a wink in Joe’s direction, followed by music playing from a speaker from a button on the man’s way back into the kitchen. Ben rolled his eyes when Joe held out his free hand and took it anyways, letting Joe spin him around the rather cramped space with  _ adorably _ clumsy and terrible dance moves that Ben couldn’t care less about. 

It was a much nicer date, he decided just before falling asleep in Joe’s arms that night, than any other he could have imagined. As long as he had Joe by his side, everything felt  _ right _ . 


End file.
